Jesus May Not Be Good for Business - Acts 19-20

Acts 19:25-27 (ESV Strong's)
These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Jesus May Not Be Good For Business!

When Paul came to the city of Ephesians, the local Chamber of Commerce was not amused.   A silver industry making idols to the goddess Diana was in extreme economic stress over Paul’s message of the cross.  In order to tell people about Christ you often have to speak to them truth that is contrary to the narrative the currently embrace.    The business of Ephesus was built not he back of a false narrative.  The same is true in many industries today.   Think of education.  Those who design educational systems believe the more education a person has the more they are awaken and enlightened.   There is no doubt that education is one of the foundations of our country and a necessary part of our society.  But, the narrative of education changing you is a limited and flawed narrative.  Only the message of the Christ changes someone.   The power of redemption makes the necessary change in souls AND mind for a true change.   Education is one of many tools to make sure the power of the Gospel is introduced into society.  But, many industries and business exploits are like education ... we soon begin to worship them and not the Christ they should.   The silversmiths in Ephesus formed a union collation to fight the spread of the Gospel.   Jesus is not always good for business as we know business today.   But, Jesus is our business, if we are members of the kingdom.   We are to spreading the message of the Kingdom not that marketing slogan of this worlds kingdoms.  

They Shall Be Mine!! Malachi

Malachi 3:16-18 (ESV Strong's)
The Book of Remembrance

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

THEY SHALL BE MINE!!!

The prophet Malachi is bring both a message of gloom and a message of glory to the remnant that had returned to the land, after captivity.   Even after all their captivity and hardship they had begun to steal from God and failed to honor and revere God.   God was going to punish them, once again, for this unfaithfulness.  But, there was a remnant that was still desirous to obey God.   This is the group to whom Malachi is writing to in the above passage.  It is both to them (the remnant) and to those who would eventually come to trust in God through faith in Christ.  Note what the jest of the passage says:

THEY SHALL BE MINE!!   God knows those who are His.  God is claiming them and it is NOT based upon their performance, it is simply their faith in a risen God.   God claims us as His children.  Note what Christ will soon say, some 400 years after Malachi’s words:

John 1:12 (ESV Strong's)
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Jesus dies to make us children of God and have our names written and recorded.  God will NEVER depart from us after He writes our name in His book.  He writes it in the book because we have faith in Him.

Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV Strong's)
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Qoheleth Speaks Truth - Ecclesiastes 11-12

Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 (ESV Strong's)
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

The Value of the Qoheleth Who Speaks Truth

The Hebrew word in the above passage for “preacher” is “Qoheleth.”   It is pronounced ka-ha-leth.”  A Qoheleth was someone who had a collection of “sayings” and imparted “knowledge.”   The Qoheleth is introduced in the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 1:1 (ESV Strong's)
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Since Solomon was the “son of David” and Solomon wrote many “sayings of wisdom,” it is easy to assume Solomon is Qoheleth.   In today’s society we might call motivation speakers and leadership speakers/writers Qoheleths.   They walk around telling us their versions of “truth” so that we can grow in knowledge.  The enterprise of the Qoheleth was no more unusual in Solomon’s day as it is in our day.  The difference between the Qoheleth in Solomon’s day and Solomon is that Solomon is said to be claiming that he speaks “truth.”  Whoever wrote the epilogue to this book tells us, “The Preacher (Qoheleth) sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote of truth.”  The Qoheleth is supposed to bring words of truth at the right time to the hungry soul.  

Solomon, in the book of Proverbs, writes a similar proverb:

Proverbs 15:23 (ESV Strong's)
To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
and a word in season, how good it is!

The key for the Qoheleth is bringing truth.   That is what the Queen of Sheba discovered when she traveled miles just to hear Qoheleth, Solomon:

1 Kings 10:4-9 (ESV Strong's)
And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

When a Qoheleth speaks truth the world around them notices.  That should bring Glory to the God of Truth.   That is the desire of the Qoheleth then and should be the desire of the Qoheleth now.

God Forms Our Minds - Psalms 137-139

Psalms 139:13 (ESV Strong's)
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

God Forms My Mind

The word in the above passage for “inward” is a Hebrew word that carries the literal meaning of the “kidney,” but is used throughout Scripture, figuratively, “the mind.”    It is the used in the following ways in OT literature:

Psalms 7:9 (ESV Strong's)
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and “hearts,”
O righteous God!

Psalms 26:2 (ESV Strong's)
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and my “mind.”

Proverbs 23:16 (ESV Strong's)
My “inmost being” will exult
when your lips speak what is right.

God forms the mind and wants to continue to “renew” the mind after our justification.  Note what Paul tells us:

Romans 12:2 (ESV Strong's)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

God is in the process of renewing our minds and restoring what He designed from the beginning of the world.  Sin damages our thinking.   It is only be regeneration of the Spirit that our minds are restored to what God wants.

Titus 3:5 (ESV Strong's)
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

This is why taking Gods Word and allowing it to reshape our minds changes those old bad thoughts and renews our minds.   Here is what Job was asked directly by God:

Job 38:36 (ESV Strong's)
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
or given understanding to the mind?

God gives us understanding.   If we have problems with our thinking we need to allow God to change and form our mind through His Word.   If we don’t read His Word and meditate upon His Word and obey His Word our minds can’t be formed by God and will be formed by those around us.  

Remember the Lord - Nehemiah 1-4

Nehemiah 4:14 (ESV Strong's)
And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Remember the Lord

Nehemiah was a master motivator and a great leader.  Perhaps one of the best leaders recorded in Scripture.  In the above passage we read his response to the attacks that were being presented against the work he was called to do.   God sent him back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls.   In ancient days a city without walls meant that any animal or enemy could come easily into the city and destroy both material goods and people.   In chapter one we read how ashamed the Jews were that the walls of Jerusalem were still destroyed, 70 years after the nation of Israel was exiled out of the city because of their disobedience to God.  Jerusalem was not just any city!  It was a symbol of the pride and prosperity of Israel and the place the Temple was built where God would reside.   The city walls were paramount to that symbolism.   New walls meant that they (Israel) were once again a restored nation.   In the above passage we read Nehemiah’s message to the people when the local tough guys come to discourage the workers and threatened to attack them.  Nehemiah’s message was NOT to trust him and his great leadership.   It was NOT to trust themselves and their ability to fight.   It was to REMEMBER the Lord.   Like the message to Job in the midst of his depression and Elijah in the midst of his despair, Nehemiah simply wanted the people to remember who God was.  The knowledge of God is the key to our fighting spiritual and physical battles.  Note what Paul says about making sure we don’t let anything “rise up against the knowledge of God:”

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (ESV Strong's)
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Our FEARS in the midst of struggle arise because we fail to REMEMBER who God is.  When we REMEMBER how great God is there is nothing that we can fear.  NOTE:

Psalms 91:1-6 (ESV Strong's)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Love/Treat Your Neighbor as Yourself - Deuteronomy 20-22

Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (ESV Strong's)
“You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it.

Love/Treat Your Neighbor As Yourself

When Jesus was asked to summarize all the Law (a position of which is the above verses), Jesus summed it all up like this:

Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV Strong's)
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

When we compare Jesus’ summary to the above verses we certainly see why the summary is accurate.   Moses, in the above passage, is telling the nation how they should treat the property of their “neighbor.”   If we have the opportunity to help our neighbor we are to do so.  That is the summary of all that is written in the entire book of Deuteronomy.   Loving God with all your heart and loving neighbor like we love ourselves, motivates us to want to care for our neighbors property.   That type of love is what God is producing in our hearts.  Note how Paul uses this thought to summarize justification:

Galatians 5:6 (ESV Strong's)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Love is not a feeling.  It is an action that shows care and the well being of others to be more important than your own well being.  That is the heart of God.   He so cared about the world He sacrificed His son to die for their sins.  

Grow in Grace - 2 Peter

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV Strong's)
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Grow in Grace

Peter gives us much to learn and remember throughout both his first and second letters.   In this second letter he starts out by telling the readers “what” growth in Christ looks like:

2 Peter 1:5-7 (ESV Strong's)
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

He then tells them “why” they should grow:

2 Peter 1:8 (ESV Strong’s)
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, in the above text that ends the letter for Peter, he tells them “how” this growth takes place:  In God’s Grace.   It would be easy for the reader to read a portion of the letter and walk away thinking that their own efforts are what produces growth in their live.  Yet, Peter ends the book by telling them that growth is only possible as a gift of God via His grace.   It would be easy to read and think we are to “do” things to produce what Peter is writing about in the first chapter of his letter.  But, it is the last chapter of the letter, the last verse, that tells us to remember that all growth is an act of God’s grace.   Our growth is not based upon our strength or our efforts.  It is simply believing in His word and all how His word to sanctify us:

John 17:17 (ESV Strong's)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

God Uses Eloquent Men - Acts 17-18

Acts 18:24-25 (ESV Strong's)
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.

God Uses Eloquent Men

We often hear about how Jesus picked “fishermen” and “tax-collectors” and unknown men to be His disciples.    That is a true fact.   That has become a theme of modern pastors and teachers of the Scripture today.  We often hear them tell us that God chooses the weak things of this world to confound the wise; also a true fact (1 Corinthians 2).  We can often see these “truths” bore out in who God uses today.  God is a master at using those who are less “finished” by the “world’s standards” to accomplish His plans.   Yet, in the above passage we read about other people Christ uses to tell the message of the gospel.   Apollos was a very eloquent man.  The word for “eloquent” is used only here in this passage and no other book in the New Testament.   Vine describes the word as follows:

(Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary) logios (λόγιος, 3052), an adjective, from logos, “a word,” primarily meant “learned, a man skilled in literature and the arts.” In the kjv of Acts 18:24, it is translated “eloquent,” said of Apollos; the rv is almost certainly right in translating it “learned.” It was much more frequently used among the Greeks of one who was erudite than of one who was skilled in words. He had stores of “learning” and could use it convincingly.

It goes on to say, however, that Apollos had to be instructed in the exact messaging of the Gospel.  Others, more learned in doctrine, pulled Apollos off to the side to instruct him.   Perhaps this is an even more testament to who God uses to preach His gospel.  They are not just eloquent but also coachable.  God uses men who will learn to teach others to learn.   God can uses the weak in speaking skills and He can uses those who are eloquent in speaking the word.   But, both have to be willing to learn the Scriptures to teach the Scriptures.  Paul was, perhaps, the most skilled in knowledge, but, according to some interpretations, weak in tongue.   God uses all types.    It is not a weakness to be eloquent in words.   Used for the Glory of God it is a beautiful thing.

We Are His Crown Jewel - Zechariah 8-14

Zechariah 9:16-17 (ESV Strong's)
On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.

We Are His Crown Jewel

In this portion of Zachariah he is prophesying about the future day when Jesus will rule the heavenly and earthly kingdoms ... first in the heart and then in heaven and on earth.    He states that He will so rescue mankind that man will be the “jewel of a crown” before the world around them.    It is important for the believer to know that God certainly saved us from hell and from paying for our own sin on our own.  But, it is also important to realize that the ultimate reason for salvation was not for our comfort or vanity.  The reason for man being saved was to be a jewel in God’s crown.   Somehow man constantly turns salvation into something about man.    But, in the above passage God is clear that the reason to save man from himself and the destruction of other men and from the weight of sin, we so that God would be glorified.  Note:

Isaiah 62:3 (ESV Strong's)
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV Strong's)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Yes, we can rejoice in what God’s salvation did for us.  But, we have to remember, that the entire point of redemption history is the glorification of God, not the pleasantness of man.

Social Order Turned Upside Down - Ecclesiastes 9-10

Ecclesiastes 10:5-7 (ESV Strong's)
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

Social Order Turned Upside Down

In Solomon’s day there was a certain peeking order.  As in our day, the rich tend to the rule and the poor tend to be their servants.  God’s word is not saying this is RIGHT, but that seem to be the course when sin rules rather than Christ.   In our world we are ruled by sin.   People complain about the results or consequences, but still refuse to submit to Christ’s rule.  Under Christ’s rule (His Kingdom) all men are the same.   But, in our day and in Solomon’s day, that is not the case.   Sin ruled and hierarchy presided over mankind.   Solomon’s point in the above passage is that when even that hierarchy is turned upside down, it seems in “error” or it seems to be an “evil.”   Solomon is writing about how the poor, even the wisest of the poor, are dismissed, simply because they are poor.   In 9:13 and following Solomon makes the case that even if a poor wiseman saves a city, they will soon forget him because he is poor.    As he continues to write, Solomon makes his point (in our above text) that is seems almost evil or in complete error when the fool, the poor, the lowly rule and the rich are not in charge.  Solomon is not saying the poor should not rule, but the that the fool, weather riche or poor should not be in leadership.    Solomon is simply telling us that the world seems upside down at times, when sin rules.   It is only under God’s grace that leadership can be set straight and that those in God’s grace lead in harmony with Him.  

All In His Name - Psalms 134-146

Psalms 135:3 (ESV Strong's)
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for it is pleasant!

All In His Name

Solomon said the following about a name:

Proverbs 22:1 (ESV Strong's)
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.

When you hear someone’s name, what do you think about?  Does the name of the person conjure up good or bad feelings?   Does the name give you strength or draw energy out of you?   What does the name mean to you?   In the above text we are told to “praise the Lord, FOR the Lord is good; sing to his name, FOR IT IS IS PLEASANT.    When we hear the name of Jesus we are to rejoice and praise Him because He is GOOD and His name is PLEASANT! The Hebrew word for “pleasant” could be translated “beautiful.”   The same word is uses in Psalm 16 as follows:

Psalms 16:11 (ESV Strong's)
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

That passage tells us that at God’s right hand there is pleasure.   Who is at God’s right hand?   The writer of Hebrews uses the phrase to tell us that Christ is at the right hand of God.   So, where are the pleasures of life?  They are found in Christ.   So, when we hear the name of Jesus we should think of the pleasures of God.  His name should bring pleasure to our mind.   We embrace Him because He embraces us and loves us.  The name of Jesus is good and pleasant.

God Reveals Treasures in His Time - Ezra 6-10

Ezra 6:1-5 (ESV Strong's)
Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

God Reveals Treasures

The remnant of Israelites had been released from Babylon to rebuild the temple.    However, the residents of the land, out of jealousy and power, stopped the work and sent word to Darius the king to make sure he knew what was going on.  In that inquiry they were trying to shut down the project.  The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were trying to motivate the people to keep going on the project.   No one expected what God did.  In the above passage we see God’s hand reach into the archives of Babylon’s safety deposit box and find the exact document they needed to allow the work to continue.  God is like this.  He makes arrangements when all things seem bad and impossible.   God intervenes in the smallest ways to accomplish His plans.   We can rejoice that we have a God so detailed in His work.  He knows the smallest things in His hands to be revealed at the last minute.  

Truth Mattes to God - Deuteronomy 16-19

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (ESV Strong's)
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Truth Matters to God

God gives the nation of Israel about false teachers.   False teaching can be found in every age of God’s working with His people.  Sometimes the prophet is bluntly and blatantly false.  Sometimes the prophet is deceptive and cunning in their false teaching.   There are examples throughout the Bible of these false trumpets who sound an uncertain sound, not the truth of God.   In the above passage we see what God intends for the nation to do with these false teachers in Moses day.   Today we are to avoid false teachers and not give them an audience:


2 John 1:8-11 (ESV Strong's)
Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

We are to not entertain false teaching whether they come via our churches, our radio stations, our songs, our televisions or our email inbox.   False teaching is to be shunned, shutdown and stopped.  God is truth and anything that does not reflect His truth is to be destroyed from our midst.

Suffering Comes when Christ Rest Upon You - 1 Peter 4-5

1 Peter 4:14 (ESV Strong's)
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Suffering Comes when Christ Rest Upon You.

The only way you can do what Peter is talking about in the above passage is to know your relationship with Christ.  The "rejoicing" in v. 13 is a result of the "Joy" produced by the Fruit of the Spirit talked about in v. 14

1 Peter 3:14
But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,

Earlier, Peter wrote:

1 Peter 2:20
For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

Notice what Christ warned Peter (and all believers):

Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When Peter was beaten in the days of the early church, note what his mindset was:

Acts 5:41 (ESV Strong's)
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

We are “worthy” to be suffering for the Name of Christ.   That is the mindset of the believer.

God Does His Work “Through” Us!!! Acts 15-16

Acts 15:12 (ESV Strong's)
And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

God Does His Work “Through” Us!!

The church was having a debate about how a person can come to Christ.   Paul, Barnabas and the rest of the Apostles believed that faith in Christ was all that mattered.  Some of the Jewish believers believed you need to believe in Christ AND become circumcised.  They came to the council of Jerusalem to discuss this topic.  James (the head of the council) will eventually decide that circumcision is not required and only faith in Christ is the avenue for Christianity.  To show what God has been doing, Paul and Barnabas explain to the council what God is doing “through” them.   God uses His servants to accomplish His tasks.   That is God’s method for sharing the Gospel.   He uses those He redeems to redeem others.  

God Motivates Us - Zechariah 1-7

Zechariah 1:17 (ESV Strong's)
Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

God is the Great Motivator

Zachariah was sent to the nation of Israel, like Haggai, to motivate the returning remnant to build the Temple.  Both prophets were motivational speakers.   God spoke through them to motive the remnant, because they were discouraged and had given up on the work.   God uses a series of motivational techniques to appeal to the nation.   He is, in essence, changing their mindset about how they think of Him, how they think of the work and how they think of themselves.  Motivation is inward. It is not outward.  Motivation is a state of mind.  Notice how God uses different beliefs to change the mindset of the remnant to get them to be motivated into action.

1.  He motivates them by a promise of prosperity:

Zechariah 1:17 (ESV Strong's)
Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

2.  He motivates them by a promise of death and judgment tot heir enemies:

Zechariah 1:21 (ESV Strong's)
And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

3. He motivates them by reminding them He is their father wand will care for them always:

Zechariah 2:8 (ESV Strong's)
For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:

4.  He motivates them by reminding them they have access to Him:

Zechariah 3:7 (ESV Strong's)
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

5. He motivates them by reminding them that they have the Power of God at their disposal:

Zechariah 4:6 (ESV Strong's)
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

6.  He motivates them by reminding them that He will ultimately judge the sin of this world:

Zechariah 5:3 (ESV Strong's)
Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.

7. He motivates by a desire for personal holiness and a desire to destroy sin.  The “basket” in this verse contained the woman “Wicked.”   God will remove “wickedness” from us.

Zechariah 5:10-11 (ESV Strong's)
Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

8.  He motives them by telling them that He is going to patrol the earth and destroy all sin via His judgment:

Zechariah 6:6 (ESV Strong's)
The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.”

God uses many type of motivation.  Zachariah was sent to motivate the nation of Israel with these messages.   He is motivating us with the same motivations.

Reputation or Riches? Ecclesiastes 7-8

Ecclesiastes 7:1 (ESV Strong's)
A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.

Reputation or Riches?

Solomon is said to be the riches man in the world during his time.  God said it:

1 Kings 10:23 (ESV Strong's)
Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

Dollar for dollar, Solomon is probably the richest man that ever walked the earth.   Current billionaires would all take a back seat to Solomon.   Yet, in the above verse, Solomon gives us a truth that our reputation (what people think about us when they hear our name), is more important than riches.   The second line (the day of death is better than the day of birth), is calling us to realize (in the context of our name) that a birth is simply exciting because you were born.   You have not done anything, yet.   At your death your entire life is behind you.  So, the walk you take from brith to death is more valuable than the birth itself.   We are all happy at the birth of a baby and want to know his/her name.    But the name means little to us.   At death, however, the name of the deceased conjures up memories of their life.   That is meaningful.   What we do in life is our reputation.  When others hear our name what do they think?  Solomon is telling us that our reputation is more important than all the riche we can possess.  Do they think of us as a kingdom walker?  Or, do they see us as a rich man with money?    Our walk reflects our heart and our heart is our reputation.  

Saints Should Shout!! Psalms 131-133

Psalms 132:9 (ESV Strong's)
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your saints shout for joy.

Saints Should Shout!

Psalms 132 is a song that reflects God honoring David’s request to build the Temple for God to dwell in, but in a way David could not have imagined.   God is not only going to allow a Temple to be built, but He promises David he will always have one of his descendants to sit on the throne in Jerusalem.   What others may have understood at the time was this was a physical kingdom and David’s actual descendants would sit on the throne.  Although that happened for many years, as well, what God was talking about was that one of the David’s “sons” was going to be “Christ” and the Christ would sit on the through of the Kingdom of God.   Because of this truth the writer of this Psalms gives us the above passage.   The song is asking that the priests/saints of God be clothed with righteousness and will have shouts of joy.   When Paul told us to put on the armor  of God he told us to take up the Breastplate of Righteousness.   When Paul gave us the Fruit of the Spirit he told us that we would have Joy.    When you combine these two we see that being declared “righteous” (Romans 5) gives us the reason for joy.   We can rejoice because we are declared righteous.   All the saints of the Lord should shout for joy.  

Fear Mongering has Always been a Thing - Ezra 1-5

Ezra 4:13-16 (ESV Strong's)
Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

Fear Mongering has Always been a Thing

In the above passage we are picking up a theme in the middle of chapter four of Ezra.    Ezra is recording the events that surround the re-building of the Temple by the returning Israelites.   They were in captivity for their sins and in the beginning of that captivity the Temple was destroyed.  Those returning had their hearts stirred by God to rebuild it.   But, they had opposition.  God’s work is often opposed.   The men of the land were jealous and imperious.  They wanted to exact their controlling power over these returning exiles.   To do this they had to create a narrative that would strike fear in the king that had released these Jews to begin with.   They want to remind him of the historical “wickedness” of those who once lived in Jerusalem and had this Temple.  The irony here is the God sent the nation into captivity because of the nations rebellion to Him, but these rulers of the land did not want the Temple rebuilt because of the historical rebellion Jerusalem had to other other kings.   To make sure they can stir the heart of the king they create this fearful narrative to make their point.   The world is constantly creating and manufacturing false narratives that make their points.   Fear mongering is a long lasting art for the political minded.  Jesus came to speak truth (John 14:6).  We are sanctified by truth (John 17:17);  We are to arm ourselves with the Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6).   The world deals in fear and falsehood.  Jesus deals in truth and peace (Philippine 4:7ff).

Give to the Needy - Deuteronomy 13-15

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 (ESV Strong's)
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

Give to the Needy

“For there will never cease to be poor in the land.”  - we ought to remember that verse and keep it close.  It is doubtful anyone ever had that portion of this text tattooed on their arm or chest.   God has placed the poor in the land:

Proverbs 22:2 (ESV Strong's)
The rich and the poor meet together;
the Lord is the Maker of them all.

He has put them in the land for those He has blessed to care for.  This is the point of the above text.  It needs little explanation.   God makes those that are rich and those that are poor.  He is the maker of them all.   He causes them to meet so that the blessings bestowed upon the rich can be given to the poor.  This is a picture of God’s grace to us.  We have been given the riches of His grace that we might give them (through the message of the Gospel) to the poor.

Men Are To Understand Their Wives - 1 Peter 1-3

1 Peter 3:7 (ESV Strong's)
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Men Need to Seek to Understand

I am not sure were the world came up with the phrase, “Seek to understand rather than to be understood.”  But, in the above text that is what God is saying to husbands about their relationship with their wives.    It is important to note the context of the Greek and Hebrew world when it comes to understanding what the Bible says about marriage and what the hearers would have observed in their day-to-day lives.   The Greeks and, even the Hebrews, did not always treat their wives the way God intended in the original plan, before the fall of mankind.  Note what God intended:

Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”

Christian men need to be careful to not allow the curse of the fall to rule their hearts and minds about their help-mate. The Christian experience is to restore the original intent of the man-wife relationship.  Men for their part, according to Peter, are expected to “seek to understand” their wives.   We are to live with them based upon our knowledge of them.  Since all woman are different, we are to to treat them based upon the statements of others, but in an understanding manner ... knowing them.  We are to know their strengths and their weaknesses.   We are to protect them and shelter than where necessary and let them flourish in their strengths where they can.    They are “heirs” of the grace we both share.  Believing men did not get more grace than believing women.   God gave them both grace.  We are to use that grace to understand, minister and love each other.  Why?  So that our mutual prayers in faith toward God are not hindered.   Hiding anger in your heart to your spouse will cut off your prayer power toward God.   That is the simply truth God gave here.  The loving and understanding relation we have with our spouse is to make sure we have prayer power.   It is not so that we have a great life together.   We will, but that is not the point.   We are to understand that God has given us a relationship to practice His grace in order to have a deeper relationship with Him.  

When God Corrects One, The Other Might Believe - Acts 13-14

Acts 13:12 (ESV Strong's)
Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

When God Corrects One, the Other Might Believe

In order to understand the above passage we have to note the context.  The “proconsul” was a big influencer in the two Paul and Barnabas had visited (Salamis).   Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the church to spread the gospel.  When they are arrived at Salamis they were met with great joy by many in the synagogue but also, this man, Sergius Paulus.   It reads that he was a man of intelligence.  But, they were also meet by a man of great fame and power, Elymas, the magician.  Elymas, the Jewish leaders later, became jealous of the attention the people gave Paul and not him.   He attempted to stop Paul and Barnabas from teaching the gospel to everyone, including the proconsul, Sergius Paulus.    Paul does not shrink from the moment.  Paul take the man on in a spiritual sense and, in the power of God, curses him and tells him he will become blind.   When Paul finishes the curse the man does become blind and we don’t hear from him again.   His spiritual blindness was manifested as physical blindness.   We should rejoice in the power of God that was given to Paul to make sure the gospel was heard.  

That is the context for the above verse.   When Sergius Paulus sees this thing happened he becomes fascinated with God’s Word and the power of it.  When Sergius saw Elymas, the fool, corrected, he took notice of the wisdom of God.   Notice how Solomon talked about this very thought in his proverbs:

Proverbs 19:25 (KJV)
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware:
and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

When we “smite” a scorner, others take notice.   A fool will always be a fool.  But, when we correct a fool, the simply become wise.   This is what happened in this story in Acts.  God fulfilled Solomon’s words as He reached out and gave forgiveness of sins to Sergius.  

God Uses Men - Haggai

Haggai 2:23 (ESV Strong's)
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”

God Uses Men to Carry His Mission

In the above passage there is a lot going on in the text.   In the book of Haggai we are reading about God’s motivational techniques to get the returning remnant of Israelites to rebuild the Temple.    He uses men to covey the messages and the motivational theories He used.  Zerubbabel was the “governor” of Israel.   God is using Zerubbabel as a word picture of the Savior Jesus would soon become to the nation and the rest of mankind.    In the above passage Haggai calls Zerubbabel the “signet ring.”  A “signet ring” is a ring that is used to make a covenant.   God is using Zerubbabel to communicate His covenant to redeem mankind.   It is so amazing to see the God of the universe to use a mere man to communicate His message for His glory.  This is the purpose of man.  He makes a covenant with mankind to redeem him. Then He uses mankind to communicate that redemption.   God is doing the same today for us and His message for redemption today.

Talk is Cheap - Ecclesiastes 5-6

Ecclesiastes 5:3 (ESV Strong's)
For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

Talk is Cheap

Solomon is giving us a formula for making sure our talk does not outpace our walk.   He is telling us in this proverb that dreams only come true when we do the “toil” or “tasks” (the meaning of the Hebrew word translated “business” in the above task) related to the dream.   It is ONLY a dream if the work is not their to make the dream come true.     Many people have “dreamed” of having many things, but only those who do the work will see their dream “come” true.   This little section in Ecclesiastes starts with a word about “rash” words.  It ends with this verse.   Solomon’s point is to be careful that our words don’t start writing checks our lives and our work can’t cash.   We need to make sure our walk matches our talk.   It is better to have the walk without the talk than the talk without the walk.  

Hear My Voice! (Psalms 128-130)

Psalms 130:2 (ESV Strong's)
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

Hear My Voice!!

We live in a society where people want to be heard.  When they are not heard, they seem to make more noise so that you can’t ignore them.  In corporate America we spend millions of dollars on marking sure leadership is listening to followership.   It is doubtful that when the industrial revolution began that Henry Ford spent much time listening to his workers; making sure they had a “voice” in the making of the first automobiles.   Today’s customers want to be “heard.”   We spend much time and money in market research to hear customers concerns and wants.   Steve Jobs shocked the market place when he said or implied that customers don’t even know what they want until I tell them.   His comments seemed to be an affront to the free market system.   Husbands better for sure make sure their wives voices are being heard.

All this brings us to the above text.   In this psalm (A Song of the Ascents) the writer is expressing a desire to be heard by God.   He/she wants their voice “heard.”    This is a cry to have God hear their call for mercy on themselves.     We can rejoice that this cry to have their voice heard is not like the board of a big corporation.    This is God.  God has promised to listen and to hear.  David told us in Psalms 51 that God was listening to him and would cleanse him from his iniquity.    The writer of this song is also in a bad place.   In verse one he says he is in the “depths of the waters.”    Yet, in the “depths” he knows he can cry and be heard.   We have no worries that God hears us.  The God of the universe hears the cries of the saints.   We can rejoice in the fact that our cries for mercy have been heard.  God sent His Son to respond to those cries.  He gives us mercy through the redemptive work of Christ.   We are not only “heard” but God provides the action behind His listening and hearing us to give is mercy!!

Sometimes Kids Disobey - 2 Chronicles 33-36

2 Chronicles 33:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

Sometimes Kids Disobey

Manasseh’s father was Hezekiah.  Hezekiah, for most of his life, set a great example for Manasseh.  Hezekiah listened to God’s Word, God’s prophets and followed God’s plans.  In his latter years he became prideful and selfish, however. Perhaps this is what Manasseh saw.  Who knows, but God!    Never-the-less, Manasseh did evil.  This passage goes on to say that Manasseh lead Judah to do more evil than the nations God was disposing when Joshua lead Israel into the promise land.   Manasseh failed to follow his father’s footsteps and God’s rule in his life.  This is the story of many sons and many fathers.    The grief that a wayward son brings is hard for a father and mother to bare.  Note what Solomon said:

Proverbs 17:25 (ESV Strong's)
A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.

However, an obedient son brings something different:

Proverbs 10:1 (ESV Strong's)
The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Later in his life, thankfully, Manasseh would repent, come to God and begin a reformation.   Why, only God knows.  But, God eventually get hold of Manasseh’s life and bring him into obedience.  This is the prayer of every father who has a son or sons who disregard God and obedience to Him.

Don’t Desire Other Gods - Deuteronomy 9-12

Deuteronomy 12:29-30 (ESV Strong's)
“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’

Don’t Desire Other “Gods”.

God has made a point in this section that He is the God of Israel and there are no other “gods.”   He has warned them repeatedly about going after the gods of the people in the land they are about to dispossess.   He does not want them to be curious about that.    This might be a good verse to start with in a Christian college comparative religion class.   Too many times we are “curious” about how others worship their gods.    God does not honor that inquisitive nature ... not based upon the above verse.   We are to be ignorant of the false worship in the world around us.    Notice what Paul told the early church:

Romans 16:19 (ESV Strong's)
For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

That was Paul’s conclusion to the Roman church after he wrote about the great doctrine of Justification to the early church.  He is, in essence, saying, we have the greatest God and the deepest doctrine on the earth; why spend time gazing upon evil.    This is the same message God gave Moses to give to the nation of Israel.  They had the greatest God who was bringing them into a land where He would destroy the gods of the people.  Why cast your eyes in want on their gods when their gods could not save them from Your God?     Our God is great and we should study Him and be ignorant of other gods.

Do Right Today; Let God Do Right Tomorrow - James 4-5

James 4:13-17 (ESV Strong's)
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Do Right Today; Let God Do Right Tomorrow

We often get really carried away about worry.   We worry about next week, next month and even next year.   The presumptuousness of that thinking, according to the above passage, is sin.  The above passage is all one paragraph.  It is teaching us about our trying to usurp God’s sovereignty with our planning, plotting and prognosticating.    We are to focus on the evil we face each day, individual days of it.    Our lives are but a “mist.”   We appear for a moment and then we are gone.   It is arrogant to plot out our lives in a way that simply attempts to dictate what God should or not do.  This all does not mean we don’t plan.   James, Peter and Paul all made plans.   God makes plans.   James is here speaking about the presumptuousness of our planning.  That we leave out the sovereign purpose and plans of God.   We ought to plan.   But, we ought to plan based upon “if the Lord wills or does not will” our plans.   He states to “boast” about our plans, absent God’s sovereign will being the guiding factor, is evil.  His conclusion is quite remarkable:

James 5:17
So, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

This is not just a blanket statement about walking in faith (although it certainly is a principle we need to follow).  What James is concluding is that to believers we should know to make our plans based upon the sovereign will and choice of God. All other type of planning is sin!!   We are to make our plans and do right today and let God take care of and do right tomorrow.

Baptized by the Spirit - Acts 11-12

Acts 11:15-16 (ESV Strong's)
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Baptized by the Spirit

Perhaps somewhat lost in the Christian church today is what happened to Peter only a few moments into the churches history ... he “remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with ware, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”  The church now uses marketing firms, focus groups, community forums, congregational surveys and web site developing.  It is hard to remember that those tools, as good as they are, have only been around for a few years.  The Christian Church started in the Spirit almost 2000 years ago.   Today we tend to be less interested in the Spirit’s work.   Some of that is due to the false teaching about the Spirit.   Much of Christianity has reacted to the over-passionate teaching about the Spirit in the Charismatic Movement and almost completely stopped preaching and talking about the Spirit’s work.    Others have simply found that copying the “growth techniques” of the worlds biggest industry chains   Peter was preaching the Gospel and the Sprit of God moved in their lives.  Would that not be great if that happened every time the Gospel was preached?  Peter, only a few weeks or months into the early church is reminded of the Spirit of God’s ministry in the church.  He will not forget this day.  Note:


1 Peter 1:10-12 (ESV Strong's)
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

The Spirit of God is in the middle of the work of the Christ in the Body of Christ, the Church.  Those that forget may need a reminder by the Spirit, Himself.  Peter did only a few weeks into the Church’s history.

God Will Famish All gods!!! (Zephaniah)

Zephaniah 2:11 (ESV Strong's)
The Lord will be awesome against them;
for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all the lands of the nations.

God Will Famish All gods!!

These words of Zephaniah are so awesome to read. In a world that believes it has NO God and believes it can make up its own rules and laws, these words bring comfort and calm to those who believe in Him.   “The Lord is awesome against them,” is Zephaniah’s message for his brothers.   Judah was part of the idolatry in the world during this time, but there was a remnant of believers (chapter three) that God would bring out.  God will establish His Kingdom under Christ’s rule based upon Christ’s work.    In the establishment of a kingdom God will “famish” the gods of the world.   Earlier the prophet told us one of those gods God will famish:

Zephaniah 1:18 (ESV Strong's)
Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

The world banks on its money and power and might and God will have none of that.  Our country takes great pride in our successes.  But, God will bring it down because of the idolatry in our lives today.    He will save a remnant of believers, but He will famish all another gods.